Learning Buddhism is not a vegetarian, a precept or a monk. You should know that.
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Orthodox Buddhism
In fact, there is no difference between belief and superstition in the essence of Buddhism. Buddhism is Buddhism, and the basic content is the same everywhere. Buddhism emerged from the sea of great compassion and wisdom of Buddha Sakyamuni, who was a great awakened one. It is a kind of teaching full of wisdom, kindness, brightness, coolness and comfort. The cult form established according to this belief is Buddhism.
True faith means correct belief, proper oath, correct understanding, honest belief and true trust. The content of a positive letter must meet three main conditions: first, it must be permanent; Second, it must be universal; Third, it must be inevitable. In other words, it used to be like this, now it is everywhere, and it will be like this in the future.
Any belief or trust in a truth or a thing that cannot stand the test of these three conditions is not belief, but superstition. A religious doctrine can't stand the test of the times, can't be guided by the environment, and can't open a new realm. It's superstition, not faith.
However, it is undeniable that the orthodox Buddhism in Mahayana religious areas, especially in China, has always been enjoyed exclusively by monks and a few gentlemen in the mountains. As for the orthodox beliefs of the people, they have never been popularized. The general public has always lived in the concept of mixed beliefs of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, such as the worship of ghosts and gods, and the belief that people are dead or have ghosts, which are not the products of Buddhism.
How does Buddhism adapt to the requirements of folk beliefs?
The so-called folk belief is a kind of religious behavior related to folk customs and a primitive religious phenomenon. Since the beginning of human culture, it has generally occurred between ethnic groups. That's to relieve mental troubles, family and social disputes, and the torture of the natural environment. In the case that people's physical strength and intelligence can't be solved for a while, they can only turn to the guidance, help, rescue and blessing of the gods, and use the methods of praying for a sign, praying for a sign, descending the spirit, dragging the dead, helping Luan, offering sacrifices and making wishes to achieve the purpose of communicating with ghosts and gods. Buddhism does not advocate similar behavior.
Folk belief is a mixture of gods. Since the Song Dynasty, Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism have merged, and gods, immortals, buddhas and bodhisattvas are not divided. Since the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, the so-called homology of five religions has emerged, namely, Ye religion and Hui religion. People who claim to be gods, immortals, saints, sages, bodhisattvas and ancient buddhas are invited to give advice to those who want help through mediums, magicians, Lu 'an altars, nuns, people and props, such as spirit tablets and wooden cups. The difference is that Buddhism achieves the purpose of prayer through rational persuasion, cultivating goodness and accumulating blessings, and repenting and chanting Buddha. However, monotheistic believers pray for the only God. Folk beliefs also regard leaders of various religions as gods. The difference is that all major religions have their own leaders, teaching history, teaching principles, teaching instruments and teaching groups. Folk belief is polytheism. Therefore, orthodox Buddhist temples should not be equipped with diviners, Luan altars, granaries, cups and lamps, nor should they worship gods and idols with various local colors, so as not to be contaminated with the color of folk beliefs, and be mistaken for worshipping polytheists as Buddhism, which is the mainstream of folk beliefs.
How does Buddhism meet the needs of the public and the needs of folk beliefs? This should focus on promoting the role of Buddhism and Bodhisattva, or expounding the functions of some commonly used scriptures, such as Guanyin Bodhisattva and Earth Treasure Bodhisattva, which are meticulous, far-reaching and ancient and modern. Guanyin Bodhisattva is called inspiration, salvation and compassion. Amitabha Buddha is known as the supreme medical king, also known as infinite life and infinite light. These buddhas and bodhisattvas can make people meet their needs, live longer and seek wisdom. Sakyamuni Buddha is one of the tens of billions incarnations of Lushena Buddha. He is the leader of the women's world, the mentor of man and nature, the beacon of the night and the kind navigation of the sea of suffering. Buddhas can accept the call for help from any sentient beings at any time and anywhere, and have all the functions of liberating all sentient beings. All great bodhisattvas also have six kinds of magical powers, which can be absorbed anytime and anywhere. They are all the same and should satisfy the reasonable prayers of all sentient beings. Then everyone can easily meet all the requirements of folk beliefs by choosing a Buddha, a bodhisattva, or a specific practice and mantra, not to mention going further and reaching the realm of self-interest, altruism and freedom from the religious level of folk beliefs.
The esoteric religion has different purposes and different levels of cultivation methods. Tiantai Sect and Huayan Sect in China have also compiled various rituals and rituals to practice the teachings declared in various scriptures, which are different from the polytheism of folk beliefs; Only trace back to the source of Buddhism, there is no diversified ceremony. Buddhism says that there is no end to Buddhism, and any Buddhism can become the master of all Buddhism as long as you concentrate on practicing. Therefore, there are 25 kinds of modifications in the Shurangama Sutra, and any method is equal to all laws and has the function of all laws. "Vimalakīrti Jing" shows the only way, otherwise it will be easily confused with folk beliefs and merged with polytheistic beliefs, giving people the impression that God and Buddhism are indistinguishable.
From a deeper level, as a Buddhist, if you constantly change your practice methods and worship objects in order to meet different wishes, you will lose your central goal. Believing in Buddhism and believing in the Three Treasures means learning Buddhism and practicing dharma. It is the compassion and wisdom of learning Buddha. Under the correct guidance of Buddhism, they practice Buddhism wholeheartedly, so as to achieve the consistent goal of keeping precepts, practicing Buddhism and developing wisdom. As long as we don't leave the three treasures principle and take reading Buddhist books, doing Buddhist deeds, observing precepts, giving alms, chanting Buddha and confessing as daily lessons day after day, even if we don't seek practical interests, practical interests will naturally be achieved in daily life. Is the Buddha the Creator?
No, I believe in Buddhism, and there is no concept of creator. Buddha is the awakened one on the earth. Although he can realize all the principles in the world, he can't change the existing state in the world. Although Buddha can transform all sentient beings, whether all sentient beings can achieve it depends on whether all sentient beings can work hard by themselves. Buddha is the best doctor, who can diagnose the suffering of all beings and take appropriate medicine. If he refuses to take medicine, there is nothing the Buddha can do. Buddha is the best guide, he can guide all beings out of the suffering of the world. If you follow the guidance of the Buddha, you will certainly get a degree. If you don't follow the instructions, you will be helpless. Therefore, the Buddha does not pretend to be the creator. Being able to practice the Buddha's words and teachings is equivalent to seeing Buddha and respecting Buddha. Therefore, the Buddha is neither the creator nor the master of God. He can only teach all living beings how to get pleasure from suffering. Although the Buddha himself has been happy from suffering, he can't be happy from suffering instead of all living beings. Buddha is a great educator and mentor.
What is a Buddha?
Buddha, this is a transliteration of ancient Indian Sanskrit.
Buddha, which means to be aware of oneself, others and everything, is also called wise or thorough knowledge.
Buddha, simply translated as Buddha, was born in our world, 2589 years ago (623 BC), as the prince of Sakyamuni in Karowe Island, India. Sakyamuni is a surname, meaning benevolent. Muny is a general term for saints in ancient India, which means silence. This is the founder of Buddhism.
Excerpt from-Master's Feast
Life and faith
Every religion exhorts people to have faith, but what do they believe in? As the ancients said, there is a saying. A good bird knows how to choose a wood to live in, and a loyal minister knows how to be an official, not to mention faith, but also to choose a good partner. Then, what conditions should be met for the object of belief? This problem cannot be ignored.
(1) having faith.
When we choose the object of faith, we should examine whether it really exists. For example, we choose to believe in Buddhism, and the founder of Buddhism, Sakyamuni Buddha, does exist. Buddha was born in a country, raised by his parents, brothers and relatives, and even recorded becoming a monk, practicing and becoming a monk. The deeds of the Buddha are clearly recorded in history. Sakyamuni Buddha is not an imaginary figure, but a god created out of thin air; Nor is it a fairy who has come without a trace. In other words, the objects we Buddhists believe in can stand historical research. So, what should we believe? We should trust the real thing.
(2) Believe in noble morality
When we make friends, we should make friends with people with high moral character and holy personality, because they can guide us to be good and upward. The ancients said, "People who have no friends are not as good as themselves. He also said: "Water flows downwards and people climb upwards. "If the object of our faith wants us to kill and harm people, it will be harmful to trust him instead of helping. We must know, is the virtue of the object I believe in clean? Is he compassionate enough? Is his personality perfect? If he does, then such an object is worthy of our belief and conversion. Sakyamuni Buddha is an awakened person with perfect behavior. He has three virtues: wisdom, morality and kindness. His morality is perfect and pure. Following this natural mentor can make our morality higher and our personality more perfect.
(3) Strong belief ability.
Climbing a mountain requires a crutch, and we also need a powerful crutch to be our crutch in life. From an early age, we accepted the knowledgeable support of our teachers, which made us gradually avoid being children; The object of our belief must also be able to measure and consciously perceive people's knowledge of great goodness, so as to guide us on the right path. The Buddhist scripture says: "I am like a good guide, guiding others to do good;" I am like a good doctor, responding to diseases and drugs. "I believe that a good guide can take the bright road and reach the destination; I believe that a good doctor can get Akada medicine to treat intractable diseases. Why are benevolent saints, heroes and ordinary people willing to accept his leadership? Mainly because of his ability. Lions can be the king of beasts, and Dapeng can be the strongest of birds because of their special abilities. So do people. If the object of faith has great power, as if life is backed up, we can be happy because of him.
(4) clean faith.
Those who abstain from pure conduct, all their actions are in line with the precepts. We obey him, our words and deeds naturally conform to the right path, and we will not cheat. If the object we believe in is not clean, it is like a car that violates traffic rules. Accidents can happen at any time, so it's too dangerous for us to follow him. The Buddha, the object of our belief, is the most rigorous and pure awakened one. He was not only strict with himself, but also formulated many commandments to capture his disciples' body and mind. According to the scripture, a disciple of the Buddha asked the owner of the orchard for a bowl of fruit, and the owner asked him to pick it himself. The venerable master said, "The Buddha said that trees are taller than people and unattainable. The owner asked him to shake the fruit by hand. He said, "The Buddhist precepts say that you should not shake the tree to pick the fruit. In order to show sincerity, the owner had to climb down the branch himself and let him pick it. Knowing this, he still insisted: "The Buddhist precepts say that you should not help yourself with fruit. The owner of the garden had to hold the fruit in his hand and give it to him, saying, "I support you!" "This story is about breaking the commandment of' take and give'. In order to stick to this commandment, the disciples of the Buddha would rather not have fruit. In modern times, it is illegal to take anything without others' consent, even a stitch or thread. If everyone can abide by it, there will be no robbery and theft in society. If we can follow the teachings of the Buddha, the commandments we practice will be pure and flawless!
(5) Believe in Buddhism.
The object of our belief should have a perfect Buddhism. Buddhism is impartial, so it is called Buddhism. The truth of Buddhism is universally applicable, applicable to any time, space, people and things, not applicable to this person and that person. Or it is appropriate to use it at this time, but it is not appropriate to use it for another thing. Buddhism is complete because it transcends time and space and is not subject to any restrictions. There are many kinds of knowledge in society, so we should choose the most correct and harmonious as our guide. In the Spring and Autumn Period, Mrs. Qian Lou's famous saying, "It is better to be right, not wrong, not oblique, but more than enough", has been praised and used by the world for thousands of years. Believing in the perfect Buddhism can not only get many correct instructions, but also build a perfect life.
(6) Full of faith and wisdom
There are two sentences in the book "The Way to Becoming a Buddha": "Buddhism is the body, and purity and wisdom are the life. Usually when we see the Buddha statue enshrined on the desk, we will mistake it for the Buddha's body, or think that when the Buddha was alive, the solemn body was the Buddha's real body. In fact, the Buddha is based on Buddhism. The life span of the Buddha is not 80 years of human life, and the Buddha lives by endless wisdom. Secular knowledge is leaking, and human life is limited. Buddhism is the body, Buddhism is everywhere and endless; Wisdom is life, and wisdom is pure, eternal and infinite. The object of our belief, his intelligence is perfect, we can learn from him, and we can get a life full of intelligence in the future, thus making contributions to the public.
As the saying goes, "making friends carelessly" and "meeting people badly", one person staggered friends and ruined his life's future; How can you be careless in the choice of objects? What's more, if you are the object of faith, you should choose carefully!